Excess winter mortality associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias in the UK: A case for energy justice

Abstract

For more than 25 years, excess winter deaths (EWDs) have been associated with adverse respiratory and cardiovascular events. More recently, an association between EWDs and a new spectrum of morbidity has been noted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales: since at least 2009, a high prevalence of excess winter mortality has also been evident among people living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD). In the present study, excess winter mortality data for all of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) are analysed, using a longer time series (22 years). Results corroborate ONS findings related to elevated risk of death during winter for people living with ADRD. Seasonal effects have been sustained throughout the 22 year period, and people with ADRD emerge as being at greater risk of a winter death than people with cardiovascular conditions. Establishing the reasons for such pronounced seasonal mortality patterns among people with ADRD could help ensure better energy justice for people living with the severe mental impairments imposed by these conditions, guiding more effective delivery of energy efficiency and health services to people living with this increasingly prevalent disease spectrum.